Public hospitals are suffering from an acute shortage of drugs.
Medics in health centres and dispensaries that The Standard team visited said the shortage had persisted since August.
However, the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) insisted that it was supplying hospitals in the county.
According to Kemsa Communication Manager Elizabeth Mwai, the agency had a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the county and its leaders had promised to clear the debt although no timelines were given.
“I am not sure why hospitals are having shortage of drugs. What I know is we are still supplying drugs, as per order provided,” said Ms Mwai.
Nakuru is among the counties that owe the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) millions of shillings.
The county owes the supply agency Sh71 million, accumulated in the current financial year.
Health workers said they were advising patients to buy essential drugs from private chemists, but the majority could not afford them.
“We have been having a shortage of drugs and other medical items for the past two months and this has affected service delivery,” said a nurse at the Mai Mahiu Health Centre yesterday.
The nurse said essential drugs such as painkillers, Piriton tablets, syrups for children, testing kits for malaria and HIV, contraceptives and family planning drugs were out of stock.
“Hospitals are not dispensing services and it is hard to even perform general tests because of lack of non-pharmaceuticals,” said the medic, adding that they had raised the issue to the county authorities but no action had been taken.
“It is not clear why we cannot access even painkillers. The hospitals are not helping us, yet the Government is telling us about universal health,” said Peter Kimani, a resident of Mai Mahiu.
Rongai Medical Officer of Health Stephen Bellion admitted that there was a shortage of essential drugs and antibiotics in most dispensaries, but said the matter was being addressed.
“Some hospitals are facing a shortage of drugs but we are addressing the issue with the relevant authorities,” said Mr Bellion.
Signed an MoU
In August, Health Chief Officer Samuel Mwaura said the county had procured adequate drugs, which had been supplied to hospitals by Kemsa.
Dr Mwaura confirmed said the county had signed an MoU with the supplier to continue delivering drugs as payment was being worked on.
However, Mwaura was yesterday not answering his phone or responding to text messages.
County Director of Health Services Solomon Sirma also declined to speak about the issue and referred the writer to Mwaura.